TESCAN's New MultiVac Module Adds Conventional Low Vacuum and Variable Pressure Capabilities to TESCAN SEMs

Moth wing captured at 5 keV using GSD detector and MultiVac on MAGNA SEM.

TESCAN ORSAY HOLDING a.s.

BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC — May 4, 2021 — TESCAN ORSAY HOLDING a.s. announces the release of its new MultiVac module to provide the option for adding low vacuum and variable pressure capability to TESCAN SEMs. Varying the in-chamber atmosphere is an established technique for mitigating charge, imaging samples in their native states and, in combination with a gaseous secondary electron detector (GSE), enabling high magnification topographic imaging at low keV or low beam current.

“Samples containing light elements are more transparent under the electron beam, which makes them more prone to charging, but using low beam voltage alone to address charging means that you will likely miss important topographic information from your sample,” states Petr Klimek, product marketing manager at TESCAN. “We developed MultiVac to address both charge control and the need for high magnification low keV imaging that reveals fine surface details on non-conductive, beam sensitive and outgassing samples.”  

MultiVac operates in N₂ and H₂O atmospheres as well as at extended variable pressure (3–500 Pa). MultiVac’s GSD, when used in H₂O atmosphere, excels at enhancing contrast and enabling high resolution imaging at low keV and low current for detailed topographic characterization. Unlike in low vacuum mode, where gas molecules decrease signal collection efficiently, the GSD in a variable pressure H₂O atmosphere detects ionized molecules, which act as a signal enhancer, and sample emitted electrons to produce images easily at low keV and low beam current.

MultiVac seamlessly integrates with TESCAN SEMs and is compatible with other TESCAN features like Essence™ EDS, TESCAN Collision Model, Optical Navigation and Correlation Camera and TESCAN Wide Field Imaging mode. As with other TESCAN hardware and software solutions, MultiVac is controlled directly from TESCAN’s Essence™ software, to make high quality characterization effortless and accessible to all users.

Learn more using TESCAN’s MultiVac in your instrument here.